21 July 2011 – Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for Surrey and the South East, will bring his new air pollution campaign to Redhill on Thursday 21 July. He will meet with local people who are affected by air pollution and want to see Redhill clean up its dirty air. Council air pollution figures show that Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the town are regularly exceeding the government target, which is set to protect our health.
Keith will be meeting with members of Transition Redhill, the Reigate Society and the Reigate and Banstead Pedestrian Forum. He will be distributing a public information leaflet, ‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’, which he has just produced to raise awareness of air pollution and its damaging health impacts. ‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’ explains how air pollution is created, how widespread the problem is, how it affects our health and how pollution can be reduced.
Reigate and Banstead has eleven ‘Air Quality Management Areas’ where the government approved level for the harmful pollutant Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is being exceeded. Keith will be calling on local people to write to Cllr Andrew Povey, the Leader of Surrey County Council, to ask him to do more to tackle the causes of this invisible public health crisis. Earlier in the day Keith will be meeting with Cllr Steve Farrer from Reigate and Banstead Borough Council to raise his concerns about Redhill’s poor air quality. He will also be highlighting the government’s proposed plans to pass any EU air quality fines onto local councils, a plan which Keith thinks is unfair and unworkable.
Keith said: “The right to breathe clean air is fundamental. Yet thousands of lives in Redhill and across the South East are being shortened because air is heavily polluted in many places, mostly by traffic. Government data shows that air pollution contributes to over 200,000 premature deaths every year in the UK. This is an invisible public health crisis which urgently needs to be tackled.”
“I’m pleased to be joining campaigners in Redhill today to highlight the health impacts of air pollution. In my meeting with Reigate and Banstead Council I will be calling on them to invest more in public transport and to encourage people to walk and cycle more. Only by making it easier for people to be less dependent on their cars will we start to improve the air around us and make our cities more healthy and pleasant places to live and work.”
Derek Smith, Chair of Transition Redhill said: “Like most people I expect, I’ve given little thought to air quality is Redhill and just assumed it was OK. It’s a nasty shock to discover that it actually breaches European safety limits. And the thought that we could end up paying a fine for the privilege of living in a hazardous atmosphere makes it even worse. I hope Keith’s campaign will help persuade the council to do more to provide better buses and cycle routes as it’s clear that traffic levels are the cause of the problem.”
Keith is taking his campaign to Southampton, Winchester, Hampshire’s ‘Little Green Gathering’, Oxford, Reading, Maidstone, Canterbury, Redhill and Hove.
ENDS
